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Quiet space + help = homework success in Loveland schools

By Shelley Widhalm Reporter-Herald Staff Writer

Posted:
02/10/2013 10:46:08 PM MST

Six-year-old Nicole Olson, center, gets some help from Denika Bush while reading with other students during an after-school homework club Thursday, Feb. 7, 2013 at Stansberry Elementary School. Other students pictured are Jesse Gonzales, 10, front, and from left are Michelle Hanson, 6, Christina Wood, 6, Jeremiah Breazier, 6, Nicole, Denika, James Jones, 6, and Maya Thom, 7.
(
Steve Stoner
)

Right at the end of her club get-together, 8-year-old Zoriah Agnew jumped out of her chair and said, "I finished my homework."

That's right. The Stansberry Elementary School student belongs to an after-school club just to do homework.

"Here's quieter than my house," said Zoriah, a third-grader.

Zoriah is among the 60 students at the school who joined the ACE, or Achievement Comes with Effort, Club to get help on their assignments, or to be with other students serious about their work. The club, which started in November 2011, meets Tuesdays and Thursdays for 40 minutes.

"We're providing the help that sometimes parents aren't able to do," said Denika Bush, club facilitator and a third/fourth-grade teacher.

Parents may not understand the requirements of an assignment, or they may need a break, not wanting to fight with their children about getting their homework done, Bush said. The students, in turn, may not complete the assignments or have access to computers, but through participation in the club, they are turning in their work, she said.

"It turns into an extension of the school day," Bush said. "We're able to provide a quiet space and additional help. It's basically free tutoring."

Bush and seven other teachers volunteered to help out with the club, which meets in Bush's classroom for independent reading and in the flex-use room next door for homework help.

The students who work on reading may be struggling with literacy and by attending have a purpose for practicing reading, Bush said. Those students can sign off on the minutes they read, required by their classroom teachers each week, she said.

"Here, we get to give them more individual attention," said Tina Smith, a fifth grade teacher. "I'm able to target what they need, work with them independently and work with them longer.

Stansberry Elementary School third-graders Dylan Tofflemoyer, 8, left, and Titus Juergensen, 8, and fifth-grader Gage Juergensen, 10, read together during an after-school homework club Thursday at the school. (Steve Stoner)

"

Karen Kuxhausen, a second grade teacher and interventionist, has seen students who weren't turning in their schoolwork do so after joining the club.

"The kids are really taking ownership of their work," Kuxhausen said.

Kaylee Rewerts, a fourth-grader, comes to the club to do her math or literacy homework and to get help if she needs it.

"I get more peace and quiet than I do at my house," Kaylee said.

Principal Grant Waaler is supportive of the program.

"It's a great opportunity for us to extend our instructional time and continue building relationships between kids and teachers," Waaler said.

Other elementary schools in the district also have homework clubs, including Cottonwood Plains and Mary Blair.

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